About this book

This Handbook is an essential reference and a guide to the rapidly expanding field of Geographic Information Science. Designed to suit those who want an in-depth treatment of the subject, it comprises over thirty substantial essays, each written by a recognized expert in a particular area. The Handbook covers the full spectrum of research in the field. Contributors explore the major trends influencing the collection, organization, and dissemination of geographically referenced data sets, and review the defining characteristics of the database solutions used in GIS products.

They consider the opportunities for using GIS to conduct spatial analysis, and examine the ways in which it has been used to advance cartographic modeling and visualization. Finally, they portray GIS at work, surveying its increasing number of applications. The editors introduce the Handbook with an essential overview of the origins, history, and state of the art of Geographic Information Science, before providing brief summaries of the chapters that follow. They conclude the book with two final chapters setting out how Geographic Information Science is likely to evolve in the future.

“Each chapter contains a valuable list of literature, and the book ends with an exten­sive, 15-page index. This makes this textbook a valuable and useful companion for students of geoinformation, geoinformatics, geocompu­tation, and geoprocessing (GIScience), as well as for experienced scientists and professionals applying GIS."(Geologos, 2010) “This book is quite extraordinary value providing a timely and extensive review of much of the discipline. Serious researchers and students alike should see it as an essential addition to their GIScience library." (Journal of Regional Science, May 2009) "The topics covered are wide ranging, covering many aspects of GI science … .A good spread of authors from Europe, North America and Australia." (Reference Reviews, Issue 6 2008)

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Biography

John P. Wilson is Professor of Geography and Director of the GIS Research Laboratory at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. A. Stewart Fotheringham is Director of the National Centre for Geocomputation at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. They are both editors of the journal Transactions in GIS, also published by Blackwell.